Orchestral Transcriptions / Transpositions: Greig, Dvorak, Brahms

/ satchmo67

Woollahra Philharmonic OrchestraI’m not a classical or orchestral player by any means, but I recently had the honor of playing 2nd trumpet in a concert with the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra. My very first (and quite possibly my last) legitimate, serious orchestral experience!

Of course, none of the music was written for my instrument, B♭ trumpet. Most of it was written for E trumpet, also some for F and C trumpet. Generally speaking, classical trumpet players own instruments pitched in different keys, and/or can transpose readily at sight. Not me. I needed a few weeks before my first rehearsal to transpose every fiddly part for B♭ trumpet before I could play my first note with the orchestra.

Although I anticipate no demand for these whatsoever, here are my transposed parts anyway. Complete with the JazzText font, to make me feel at home while playing in an alien setting 🙂

Note: The original parts in their original keys were downloaded copyright-free from IMSLP, so I don’t envisage any copyright considerations for my transposition of those same parts.

Resources:

Greig - Symphonic Dances, Op.64 I - Bb Trumpet 2 Greig - Symphonic Dances, Op.64 II - Bb Trumpet 2
Greig - Symphonic Dances, Op.64 III - Bb Trumpet 2 Greig - Symphonic Dances, Op.64 IV - Bb Trumpet 2
Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op.104 I - Bb Trumpet 2 Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op.104 II - Bb Trumpet 2 Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op.104 III - Bb Trumpet 2
Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 1 - Bb Trumpet 2 Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 3 - Bb Trumpet 2
Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 6 - Bb Trumpet 2 Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 10 - Bb Trumpet 2

Transcribed by me and free for you to use.

What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know.

4 thoughts on “Orchestral Transcriptions / Transpositions: Greig, Dvorak, Brahms”

  1. Thanks for this transposition! E is a very difficult transposition to Bb, especially when hitting accidentals. The Trumpet I players are jealous…

    Note in the first movement, there is a notation in the original of “Muta in D”, which means change to D from E, but the transposition indicates “Straight Mute”.

    Thanks again for this timely transposition! I was about to give up on trying to transpose on sight and write it out by hand.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      • Michael, thanks so much for your comment. I’m really pleased that the Dvorak transpositions were useful for you. And in particular that you have the benefit of something the Trumpet 1 players do not 😉

        I spent hours and hours on those pieces, so it makes me very happy to know that someone else could make use of them too.

        Sorry about the “Muta in D” error. I guess that shows my limited orchestral experience. Who knew “Muta” didn’t mean “Mute”? LOL.

        Like

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